Thursday, December 18, 2014

Susanne Matthews and her wonderful story, The Price of Honor

Makin’
it to the Big League: Will This Be The
One?

Everyone
who aspires to be an author is always looking for the magic
ingredient to make their book the one that makes their career. So
what should an author write? The answer given by a surprising number
of so-called experts is “write what you know.” If I did that, my
books probably wouldn’t be too exciting. “Write what you want to
read,” might be a better answer for me.

I’ve
been a published author for a reasonably short period of time, and
during that time, I’ve released several romance novels, but in five
different sub-genres. Fire
Angel,
In
Plain Sight,
and On
His Watch
are romantic suspense. Echoes
of the Past
is paranormal romantic suspense, while Just
for the Weekend, Holiday Magic,
and The
Perfect Choice are
contemporary romances. The
Captain’s Promise,
and my latest release, The
Price of Honor are
historical romance, and All
for Love, a
romantic suspense for the Christian book market, will be released
next May.I
also co-write under the name Misty Matthews, and have two
contemporary books out there, Grand
Slam,
a novella, and Coming
Home,
the first book in a four book series called Taking
a Chance on Love.
What am I working on now? I’ve just finished NaNoWriMo with
another contemporary romance which I’ll begin editing soon, and
have two other romantic suspense novels to finish polishing before I
submit them to publishers.

Why
do I write in so many different sub-genres? The answer is simply
because I like to read different kinds of books. In time, I hope to
complete some young adult books, maybe a sci-fi novel, and I
definitely want to try my hand at fantasy. Next spring, I plan to
publish a collection of short stories for children ages 8-12 based on
stories I wrote and had published in the local newspaper twenty years
ago. What you won’t see is books which would be considered erotica,
because while there are erotic elements in some of my books, I just
don’t have that kind of an imagination.

Probably
the greatest thrill I get is reading the reviews people post for my
books or having someone I know tell me how much they enjoyed reading
one of my novels. I have a fragile ego, I’ll admit, and criticism
lays me low, but knowing my books captured someone’s imagination
and pulled them out of reality into the story for a few hours makes
the time and effort it takes to write a book worthwhile. It’s
unfortunate that not everyone who reads a book takes the time to rate
and/or review it. Reviews seriously affect a book’s life. The more
reviews it gets, the better chance there is that someone will buy it
or that you can promote it on the more popular book sites.

My
latest book, The
Price of Honor,
is an attempt to share my country and personal history with readers
who enjoy historical romance. I’ve always found history
fascinating, but I’ve found very few historical romance novels set
in early Canada when this land was a French colony. I’ve spent time
in both Quebec City and Montreal (Ville-Marie), and I’ve tried to
describe and recreate the feel of that new world in my novel. One of
my male ancestors came to Canada in 1664 as a member of the regiment
sent by King Louis XIV to quell the Mohawk uprising in the colony.
When the war ended, the soldiers were offered land if they chose to
make New France their home. Poor women of good character were sent to
New France as “Filles du Roi,” royal wards given a small dowry by
the king to leave France and cross the ocean to marry strangers and
populate the colony. But life wasn’t easy in this land where they
battled the weather, the land itself, the Amerindians, the British to
the south of them, and men back in France whose sole purpose was to
get rich regardless of who or what suffered.

In
my novel, I’ve taken poetic license to create fictional characters
who might have been involved in one of these situations. Set against
authentic historical figures and actions at a time when the land was
fresh and new, The
Price of Honor
is meant to both entertain and maybe teach the reader a bit about
early Canada.

Will
this be the book to make me? I don’t know. There are many other
stories of the crises faced by French Canadian colonists in the years
prior to Confederation and even afterwards. We might not have had the
Wild West the Americans had, but there are stories to tell, and I
hope I get to tell a few more of them.

Book
Blurb:
The Price of Honor

What
price is a woman willing to pay to restore a man’s honor?

When
her husband is falsely accused of treason and murdered, Isabelle de
Caen vows to find those responsible and see justice done. Of royal
descent, Isabelle is stunned when the king orders her hasty marriage
to one of his favorites, a man she detests. To save herself from a
fate too awful to contemplate, she disobeys the king’s edict and
commits treason of her own to find the truth.

Childhood
friend, Guy Poirier, an aristocrat in New France, has always loved
Isabelle. When he discovers her hiding in his cabin aboard ship, he
agrees to hide her from her fiancé and help her clear her husband’s
name. It doesn’t take them long to realize there’s more at stake
here than her husband’s murder. With the fate of the colony in
their hands, can Isabelle and Guy prevent a war and find love in the
new world?

Excerpt:

The
comtesse looked up from her papers giving Isabelle her full
attention. “Another colonial upstart. I wish the king would put an
end to such nonsense. A man is born noble. It’s in the blood, as
you well know considering the color of yours. I hope he’s the last
of this constant stream of rabble.” She put down her quill pen and
turned in the chair. “I’m annoyed with you, Isabelle. I’d hoped
you’d see the wisdom in the king’s decision. I didn’t expect
you to be so stubborn.”

“Stubborn?
In what way?”

“Your
attitude towards this marriage, of course. You should be overjoyed
the king has offered you to a man as rich and powerful as the
chevalier. Churlishness is a quality rarely appreciated in a lady.
Behaving like a boorish peasant doesn’t become you.”

“It
wasn’t my intention to be difficult. I sought only to honor my
father as our customs dictate.” Isabelle’s battered heart
wouldn’t let her contain her anger any longer. She’d been raised
to be polite and obedient, but this accusation was more than she
could endure. “Overjoyed? That’s the last thing I am. This is the
seventeenth century. France is an empire. I don’t understand why
the king would treat me like an African slave who can be bought and
sold like cattle. I’m the daughter of a comte. I carry the royal
bloodline. That should count for something. At the very least, it
should get me an audience to plead my case.”

Isabelle
realized her mistake when she saw her stepmother’s face.
Henriette’s fury was palpable and radiated from her. She stood
quickly, knocking over her chair, moved to Isabelle’s side, and
grabbed her chin painfully, twisting her face to the right and then
to the left. Her fingertips would leave their imprint.

“You’ll
do nothing of the sort. How naïve you are. Have you learned nothing
of politics? This may be the seventeenth century, but because of your
royal blood, you have less rights than the slaves you described.
Rebellions have been started by people with weaker claims to the
throne than yours—what are you? Twelfth now? Many of those ahead of
you are old. As they die, your claim to the throne improves. Among
other things, your darling Pierre is to blame for your current
situation. His treason cost you your freedom. The king can’t allow
someone he doesn’t trust to be in your position. After what
happened, it would be political suicide. I know it, the chevalier
knows it, and so does the king. His majesty’s chosen a man he
trusts with his life to father your children. The original plan was
to slit your traitorous throat. The chevalier convinced the king to
spare you, and this is how you repay his concern?”

Isabelle
stared into her step-mothers cold eyes. Could Henriette be telling
the truth? Had the chevalier and not the king instigated this farce?
Slit her throat? She’d prefer they had to this travesty. Henriette
continued talking, oblivious to the thoughts overwhelming Isabelle.

“Look
at you. You’re powerless. Why you don’t have enough mettle to
push my hand from your chin.” She let go of her and pushed her away
with such violence Isabelle had to grab the edge of the desk to keep
from falling.

“Surely,
there’s another option? Why would waiting a few more months make
that much difference?”

“Because
of the conspiracy, you foolish girl. Think of it. A member of the
royal family, albeit a distant one, conspiring to commit treason? A
woman is often blamed for her husband’s crimes. The sooner that
connection is erased from memory, the better. Besides, I can’t take
my place at court until you’re the new Comtesse of Caen. Your
husband becomes Comte de Caen and d’Angrignon the day you marry,
and he’s quite anxious to assume his new title. Did you think this
was all about you? While he may lust after you, there are plenty of
women willing to fill his bed. Vincent offered to give you his name
to spare the king any further shame, and somehow managed to convince
his majesty it was all his idea in the first place. The man is
brilliant. The title is his reward, the position at court, mine. It’s
about power—power and politics. Nothing personal.” She laughed at
what must have been the stunned look on Isabelle’s face. “Pauvre
petite.
You’re almost twenty-five and you have no idea how the world works.
You’re the daughter of a comte with royal blood in your veins.
Strange things happen at court. It’s possible your child could
inherit the throne—a daughter could marry the dauphin. Resign
yourself to your fate and make the best of it. This can be a
wonderful opportunity. You can have everything you’ve ever wanted,
and all you have to do is spread your legs.”

Like
you? Too
disgusted toeven
utter the insult, Isabelle walked over to the small table where,
despite her trembling hand, she managed to pour herself a cup of
chocolate from the silver pot, and sipped the soothing drink.
Henriette’s words bothered her. Was there more at play here—a
real conspiracy against the heirs? The chevalier was an ambitious
man, but would he go so far as murder to see his child on the throne?
Of
course he would. The man is without honor.

Susanne
Matthews was born and raised in Eastern Ontario, Canada. She’s an
avid reader of all types of books, especially those with a happily
ever after. In her imagination, she’s travelled to foreign lands,
past and present, and soared into the future. A retired educator,
Susanne spends her time writing and creating adventures for her
readers. She loves the ins and outs of romance, and the complex
journey it takes to get from the first word to the last period of a
novel. As she writes, her characters take on a life of their own, and
she shares their fears and agonies on the road to self-discovery and
love.

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About Me

I worked as an elementary school secretary for twenty-one years. I retired with my wonderful husband, to a fifty-four acre ranch, which is a constant work in progress. We live on solar and wind, which has been a real adjustment! On any given evening, the stars are an awesome sight and can be seen as far as the eye can see!